


Black Mesa Venom

by PartyPikachu



Category: HLVRAI - Fandom, Half Life VR but the AI is sentient
Genre: Cowboy AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:14:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24764446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PartyPikachu/pseuds/PartyPikachu
Summary: A ranch worker named Gordon Freeman tries tracking down the man that kidnapped his son, but finds himself in a town in the middle of nowhere filled with interesting people. Now Gordon has to survive both the desert and the supernatural while in search for his son.
Relationships: Benrey/Gordon Freeman
Comments: 40
Kudos: 116





	1. The Fool

**Author's Note:**

> This is my very first time ever posting to AO3 so please bear with me if I mess up formatting or any tags.

The sun was burning into Gordon’s skin as he was laying in the dirt of the desert. Blood was dripping from his hands as he laid there watching the vultures buzzing overhead.

“This is really it. I’m gonna die in the middle of nowhere.”

Gordon thought as more and more vultures joined in circling over him. The last thing Gordon could hear was the sound of an approaching horse and then everything went black. Everything felt weightless as if he was in a body of water and was surrounded by nothing but darkness. He looked around wondering if this is the afterlife, and if so, heaven or hell? He then saw a man in front of him adjusting his suit and tie.

“Hello… Freeman…”

Said the stranger. His eyes were a piercing bright green, his face was… slightly off, and he acted as if he was uncomfortable speaking.

“I know you’re looking for something, Gordon, or to be specific, someone. You see you’ve been… rescued by my son. I very dearly love him and I know that you being in town will… bring dangers. If you don’t want to lose everything you have, I recommend you protect him. As for me, I am… unable to be by his side due to being away to do some… much needed business. If you do what I ask… I promise you that you will get what you need. Now Mr. Freeman, wake up. Wake up...”

Gordon then had his eyes shoot open with his heart racing as he quickly sat up.

“Oh, holy shit!” Shouted a man that was examining him

“Where am I?! W-who are you!” Gordon said as he shakily pointed at the man.

The man was in a suit and bow tie, wearing glasses, and had barely any hair left, save for the white tufts of hair on the side of his head. His body was long and bony and pale, someone who rarely went outside.

“Calm down.” The man said as he put Gordon’s arm down.

“You’re in Mesa Springs, dumbass. You went and got yourself shot right outside of town. Weren’t it for Tommy and my medical skills you would be dead by now.” 

The doctor said as he gestured to a tall, skinny young man standing by the doorway. His skin was dark with plenty of freckles covering his face and arms. He wore a hat, a yellow undershirt, and a black buckskin vest with jeans and boots. He gave a small wave towards Gordon.

“Now hold still, I need to get these bullets out of you before you get gangrene.”

The doctor then handed Gordon a piece of wood.

“Here, bite down as hard as you can because… this is gonna hurt a fucking lot.”

The man then took tweezers and started to pull bullets from Gordon. Gordon gave a muffled “oh god!” As he bit down hard and gripped his leg.

“There.” Said the man as he got a bullet out.

“Is that all?”

“Nope, got two more.”

“Oh you gotta be fucking kidding m- AAAAAH!”

Gordon screamed as the doctor started to pull another bullet out.

“I told you to bite down hard. Now stop moving!”

The doctor then gestured to Tommy to come over.

“Help me steady this man’s arm.”

Tommy grabbed hold of Gordon’s arm but looked away from the blood. 

“Bubby shouldn’t we give him something to help with the pain?”

“It’s doctor Bubby, and no. It would take too long and that amount of time would require me to amputate his arm.” 

Bubby said as he pulled the final bullet from Gordon’s left shoulder. Gordon’s breathing was shaky and tears were filling his eyes from the pain of it all.

“Here, drink some of this.”

Bubby said as he handed Gordon an open bottle of moonshine. Gordon ripped it from Bubby’s hands and started gulping it all down.

“Alright, now this is going to also hurt a lot.”

Bubby said as he got out a bottle of isopropyl alcohol in one hand and clean bandages in the other. He then poured it onto Gordon’s wounds making sure every hole is disinfected.

“OH HOLY SHIT!” Gordon screamed as he slammed his fist onto his leg and started to kneel over from the pain.

Bubby then placed the bottle down and started wrapping Gordon’s wounds.

“Do you have someplace nearby where you can rest?”

“No I’m far from home- gah!”

“Fuck, sorry.” Bubby said after accidentally wrapping a bandage cloth too tightly.

“Well I hope you have money. Because you’re gonna be unable to do much with that arm of yours.”

“S-speaking of money.” Gordon said, trying to not focus on the pain, “how much do I owe you?”

“Oh nothing, Tommy already paid for all of it.”

Gordon looked over to Tommy, “uh, thank you.”

“No need to thank me, mister-“

“It’s Freeman, Gordon Freeman.”

“No need to thank me, Mr. Freeman!” Tommy said as he tipped his hat at Gordon.

Gordon noticed Tommy had these piercing green eyes, the same eyes the stranger he met had.

“Do you have some place to stay?” Tommy asked

“No, like I said I’m far away from home and I don’t have any money on me.”

“Oh well, you can stay at my home if you want. I got a guest bedroom and I’d gladly give you a place to stay.”

“I erm…”

Gordon sat there, this man is likely the stranger’s son, but what else can he do? He had no place to stay, no money, and he also saved his life.

“Yeah, sure. Thank you.”

Doctor Bubby then finished up wrapping Gordon’s wounds.

“There, you should be fine in a week as long as you don’t use your arm. Also,”

Bubby said as he removed a bottle from a shelf.

“Take one of these whenever you start to feel pain again. It will make you drowsy.”

“Thanks.” Gordon said as he grabbed the bottle from Bubby.

“Here, Mr. Freeman, I’ll show you where my house is.”

Gordon got up and stumbled a bit, but Tommy caught him.

“Do you want me to help you walk?”

“If you can, please.” Gordon said

Tommy put Gordon’s right arm over his shoulder and started walking towards a house at the top of a hill on the edge of town. It took them a while to make it to the house, Tommy opened the door to reveal a well furnished home that showed signs of wealth. Gordon had never seen a house as fancy as this place.

“Does anyone else live here?” Gordon asked

“Not really, unless you count my dog Sunkissed and my dad, but he’s rarely, if ever, here.”

A golden retriever that was about the size of a wolf ran up to the two to greet Gordon.

“Aw speaking of Sunkissed, there she is! She’s a real good girl that loves people.” Tommy said with a smile

“Are… are golden retrievers usually that big?”

“Naw, but I like to think it’s ‘cause she’s a special girl since I made her and all. Now let me get you to your room.”

When Gordon heard Tommy mention that he made Sunkissed, he wasn’t certain if he heard him correctly. “How does someone make a dog?” Gordon thought.

Tommy gently held onto Gordon’s arm as they started going up the stairs.

“I hope you’ll like it here, Mr. Freeman. I’ll make sure you get yourself healed up in no time!”

“Thanks, Tommy.”

They entered a room with light blue wallpaper, a big bed, and a night stand. Right next to the bed was a dresser with some knick knacks on top.

“Make yourself at home. I think I got some clean clothes that might fit you if you need any.”

“Thank you.” Gordon said as Tommy left the room and went downstairs to make supper.

The entire room was covered in photos of various animals and a window up against the wall had sunlight pouring in. Gordon laid onto his bed and slowly fell asleep. It was the first time in a long while where Gordon actually felt rested, must have been the moonshine Bubby gave him. He found himself in the same pitch black void again with the stranger sitting in a chair, this time. 

“Hello, Gordon.”

“Wh-what is it now? What do you want?”

“Mr. Freeman, all I want is you to listen to my offer.”

“.... alright… I’m listening.” Gordon said

“I need you to protect my son, Thomas. He is a good man but… a man who had unknowingly invited trouble into this town. He does not... know of the horrors that lurk in the land. If you do your job of protecting my son, then I will make sure you and Joshua… will be reunited…”

“What the hell does that mean? Are you saying I’m going to put Tommy in danger?” Gordon asked

The man took a sip from a cup that materialized out of thin air.

“No, Mr. Freeman, if that was the case, you would be on the ground being... slowly consumed by vultures. What you have done has set in place a sequence of events which will lead to… some unforeseen consequences… now, Mr. Freeman, what I’m asking for is a fair trade… agree to protect my son, and I’ll ensure yours will be… returned to their rightful guardian…”

Soon a table appeared in front of Gordon with a piece of paper and a pen.

“Now, Gordon Freeman…. I require a signature to ensure that you and I hold up our parts of the agreement…”

Gordon looked at the document, and then up at the stranger.

“I don’t know… I need time to read this…” Gordon said

“Take your time, Mr. Freeman… I have all the time in the wo-“

His conversation with the stranger was interrupted by a knock on the door.

“Hey Mr. Freeman, dinner’s ready… if you’re hungry.”

Gordon sat up from his bed rubbing his eyes underneath his glasses. “Uh yeah, thanks.”

“Great, now I have to find my fucking son and read a contract with this creepy man.” Gordon muttered to himself

“I also got you new clothes. I placed them on the bed while you were sleeping.” Tommy said through the door.

“Thank you. I’ll be down in a bit.” Gordon replied as he looked at the clothes set on the end of the bed.

He went through the pile of clothes and picked out a reddish orange shirt. Before getting dressed he examined his bandages in a tall mirror by the window. He then got himself dressed and looked at his new outfit in the mirror. Gordon had dark skin, a beard, and long, black curly hair in a ponytail. His eyes were gold in the sunlight coming in from the window. Gordon then went down stairs to the kitchen where Tommy was sitting at the table with two plates of food and Sunkissed right underneath the table.

“Hey Gordon! Are you feeling any better?”

“Yeah. Uh thanks again for saving my life, by the way.”

“Aw no problem, cowboy.”

“Cowboy?”

“Yeah, I’m assuming you used to herd cattle judging by your clothes.”

“Well yeah I used to.”

Gordon then took a seat at the table and looked at his food for a moment before taking a bite.

“Wow this is really good! What is this?”

“Oh it’s macaroni n cheese!”

“M-macaroni? What’s that?”

“Oh it’s something my dad taught me how to make because it’s my favorite food.”

They both sat there in silence for a while as they ate their dinner.

“So what brought you all the way over to Mesa Springs? And why did you mess with those nasty men?”

Gordon looked up from his meal.

“I…” Gordon said as he swallowed his bite

“I’m looking for someone… they took em and I want them back.”

“Oh no” Tommy said as he gave a worried expression.

“You wanna go down to sheriff Coomer and see if he can help you?” Tommy gestured towards the door.

“He’s willing to do that?”

“Yeah of course, as a lawman it’s our job to make sure people are safe.” Tommy said as he proudly showed off his deputy badge.

“Wow… you’re the first lawman I’ve met who was willin’ to help an outsider.”

“Well it’s my job to always help someone in need, especially if they’re trying to bring someone home.” Tommy said as he took another bite

“When we finish our meal you wanna go head to sheriff Coomer with me?” Tommy said as he gave a piece of his food to Sunkissed.

“Yes, if you’re okay with that.”

“Of course I’m fine with that, it is my job after all.”

They soon finished their meals and headed out of the house towards the sheriff’s office at the end of town with the sun setting in the horizon behind Gordon and Tommy. They both entered the office to see a man leaning back on a chair and his feet up. His skin was sunburnt and he had thick white hair on the sides of his head, a moustache, and green eyes. His sleeves were rolled up and revealed a lot of muscle on his arms. He put himself down and stood up upon seeing Gordon and Tommy entering.

“Ah, hello Tommy! What brings you and this fine man in today.”

Coomer eyes then lit up when he looked at Gordon.

“Oh! You must be the one that was shot outside of town! Hello, I’m sheriff Coomer!”

He said as he grabbed Gordon’s hand tightly. Gordon slightly winced in pain from that handshake. 

“It’s nice to meet you.” Gordon said as he rubbed his hand.

“Oh I’m sorry about that, I sometimes forget my own strength. So what brings you in?”

“I’m trying to find someone… my son, Joshua.”

“Oh dear, that’s terrible, I’m so sorry. Come, take a seat. Tell me every detail you can think of when your son was kidnapped.”

“Well…” Gordon said as he took a seat at Coomer’s desk. It took him a while to figure out where to start.

“The sun was startin’ to set when I went to the front porch to call for Joshua and he didn’t come back. I went down to where he would usually play at and when I got there I saw a man grabbing hold of Josh. I ran and I tried pulling Joshua away from him but he hit me on my head and rode off… I got my horse and my revolver to go get my son back. I followed that fucker for so many days, only way I could tell it was him was the horrific carnage he left behind. God the smell of all the cattle he killed... I tracked him down to the edge of your town and confronted him when he shot me. Now I’m here.”

Coomer sat there nodding his head and rubbing his chin in thought.

“What did he look like?”

“He… his face was cold, he had a square jaw and a scar running from the bridge of his nose down to his lip. His voice… it sounded French, and he wore an olive green duster.”

“The man you’re looking for sounds like someone I’ve been hunting for a while.”

“Really? Who is he?” Gordon said while he put himself on the edge of his seat.

“He’s a Frenchman named Forzen. The man you’re looking for is wanted in 4 states for murder, destruction of property, livestock slaughter, and I guess now kidnapping. You’re real lucky to be alive, Mr. Freeman.”

“How are you going to capture him?” Gordon asked

“I… I don’t know yet. I wasn’t even certain if he was near town until well,” Coomer gestured to Gordon “until he shot you.”

“I promise that I will do everything in my power to capture Forzen and get you back Joshua. Now I think you’ll need to go and rest for a while.”

“I-I will. Thank you so much Coomer.” Gordon said as he got up from his seat.

“Come one Gordon, I’ll take you back to the house. Sheriff Coomer is the best man I know and he’ll get Josh back, but you need to rest.” 

Tommy said as he put a hand out in case Gordon needed help getting up and walking.

“No thanks, I can walk, but thank you Tommy.”

The two went back to Tommy’s house and Gordon collapsed onto his bed and fell back asleep. The entire week had gone by with Gordon doing menial tasks once in a while and whittling some wood while Tommy read out a book to Gordon. Every day Coomer would come over and tell Gordon on the progress of tracking down Forzen. After Gordon’s arm finally healed up he headed to Doctor Bubby’s office for a final check up.

“Well damn… you heal, real fast.”

“Uh… thanks?” 

“Must be nice being able to recover that quickly after being a dumbass.”

Bubby said as he removed the final bandage

“Wow, thanks.” Gordon said in a sarcastic tone.

Bubby soon finished his check up on Gordon when the door slammed wide open and the wind blew in. It was Coomer standing in the doorway wearing a bandolier and a rifle in one hand.

“Gordon! I think we found Forzen!”


	2. The Magician

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About the naming of chapters: Each chapter will be named after a major arcana tarot card, so I hope it helps with any confusion from chapter names.

“What? Where?!” Gordon said as he walked up to Coomer.

“Forzen is holed up in in a gorge nearby. I’ve been told he’s set up camp with a lotta fucking men.”

Coomer said as they both walked on over to the sheriff’s office. He then handed Tommy a rifle and a bandolier.

“We need a posse.” Tommy said.

“I can join. I know how to shoot.” Gordon replied.

“Gordon, I know you want to get your son back, but I can’t risk you getting shot and killed.”

“But sheriff, we're going to need all the men we can get. Just like you said, he’s got a fuckton of men in there.”

Coomer stood there for a second gripping his rifle as he let out a sigh.

“Fine, but do as I say and don’t try to get yourself killed.”

“Yeah, I-I will.” Gordon said.

Then Bubby came in through the door.

“Harold, I am not going to let you get yourself killed.” Bubby said as he walked over to Coomer and put his hand onto his shoulder.

“Bubby, I know you care so much about me, but I need to do this.”

“Oh, I’m not going to stop you.” Bubby said as he grabbed a rifle and a gun belt. “I’m going with you.”

“You know how to use a gun?” Coomer asked Bubby.

“Of course I know how to use a gun! We’re in the middle of fucking nowhere!” Replied Bubby.

“I’m assuming you know how to use this?”

Coomer asked, handing Gordon an extra gun belt and revolver.

“Yeah of course, I had to if I was going to herd cattle.”

“Good.” Coomer said as he walked out to the hitching post.

“Bubby, you’re riding with me. Gordon, you’re with Tommy.”

“Got it.” Gordon said as Tommy helped him onto the horse.

Tommy’s horse was a Tennessee Walker with a mostly black coat save for the spot of white on its head. Coomer’s horse, on the other hand, was a massive Shire that had a dark bay coat. Gordon had never seen such a massive horse before in his life, but seeing the kind of man Coomer is, it was fitting.

“Let’s ride!” Coomer shouted as they all galloped out of town towards the encampment within the gorge, dust kicking up into the air from the horses right behind the group.

When the group got close they all hopped off from their horses and readied themselves with weapons.

“We’re gonna need to sneak up to the edge of this cliff if we want to get a good look at things.” Said Coomer.

They crouched down and snuck up to the cliff edge with Tommy laying on his stomach. They were all peeking over the cliff and looking down into the camp. Coomer pulled out his binoculars and peered through them.

“Looks like Forzen has some men, but I think we can take them.” Coomer said as he handed Gordon the binoculars.

“I- I don’t see Joshua.” Gordon said looking throughout the camp trying to find any sign of his son.

“He’s likely being held somewhere else. We need to get Forzen back alive if you want to know where Joshua is.” Bubby piped in.

“Well, we‘ll need to find cover if we’re going to win this fight.” Tommy said

“You’re right. You think those rocks over there work?” Gordon said while pointing at a group of boulders

“Excellent thinking, Gordon.” Coomer said.

The group all quietly snuck to the boulders and took cover behind them with their guns drawn.

“Alright, who’s going to fire fir-“ Coomer was cut off as Bubby fired a bullet into a gang member, causing the man to collapse down onto the dirt, his blood pouring onto the soil.

Soon bullets started whizzing by as everyone ducked behind the boulders.

“Nice job, asshole!” Gordon screamed at Bubby.

In the quiet lulls as the gang members reloaded everyone got up from behind cover and started firing off their weapons. Bubby took out two men that were the closest to the rocks with a rifle while Tommy took out a man up at the edge of the gorge with his revolver. Coomer killed the most men, five of them, with a Winchester rifle. 

“Aha! We’re showing these ruffians a thing or two, eh boys?” Coomer said as he went back into cover when the choir of bullets began again. 

“Once we kill this guy’s gang, what do we do then?” Gordon shouted at Coomer, trying to speak over the sound of firing guns.

“We then hold Forzen up with our weapons. If he’s smart enough, he’ll surrender and we can see where Joshua is-“

Coomer’s voice suddenly stopped when a stick of dynamite landed at their feet. Everyone scrambled in different directions to get away, with Bubby behind a supply of crates, and Tommy jumping behind a wagon. Gordon stood frozen to the ground, not certain where to go until Coomer yanked Gordon by the collar away and towards a second boulder 10 feet away as bullets flew by the two.

“You nearly got yourself killed, Gordon! Be more careful!” Coomer shouted as he fired two more shots.

As everyone fired off again, the returning gunfire started to die down. Gordon peeked his head out from the rock to see bodies covering the ground.

“Holy shit. We killed all of them?” Gordon said

“I think we did, Mr. Freeman! But where’s Bubby?” Tommy popped his head up and looked.

“I don’t know... Bubby, where are you?!” Coomer yelled out.

“I-I’m o-over here!” Bubby’s voice came from within a tent.

Everyone looked at each other knowing that something was wrong. They all pulled out their revolvers and approached the tent ready for whatever was there. When they got close to the flap a man with a gun up to Bubby’s head walked out. Gordon saw the scar and knew exactly who it was. The bandit started speaking in a thick French accent.

“If you want your little shit of a friend to live, I recommend you all drop your weapons.”

Gordon, Tommy, and Coomer all glanced at each other trying to figure out what to do when Forzen shouted again.

“I am going to count to three! If you do not drop your weapons by then, I will kill him! One…! Two…! Thr-“

Suddenly instinct took over Gordon as time slowed down while he drew his gun. He could hear everyone’s hearts beating as he aimed his gun and with pinpoint precision shot the gun out of Forzen’s hand. In a blink of an eye everything went back to normal with Forzen screaming out in shock and Bubby breaking free from the man’s grip. Coomer tackled Forzen and hogtied him while Tommy kicked the revolver away from the bandit’s reach. Coomer then picked up Forzen and tossed him over his shoulder, with Forzen wriggling in vain to escape the ropes.

“Fine shooting, Gordon! I never knew you could fire like that!” Coomer said before whistling for his horse.

“How…” Bubby said while he bent over trying to catch his breath, “how the hell did you do that?”

“I don’t know… I never did this before.” Gordon said as he holstered his revolver. 

“Are you gonna be okay taking him in, sheriff?” Asked Gordon.

“Oh yes, I should be fine, Gordon! Why don’t you take one of their horses? They certainly won’t be needing them now.”

Gordon looked over to the hitching post at the edge of the camp and picked a horse with a dark brown coat and a long mane. He approached the horse but it started trying to break free from its hitching post in fear.

“Don’t worry girl, I’m not gonna hurt ya. Shhhh, it’s okay. Shhhh.”

Gordon said as he put his hands out while standing in front of the horse. He kept on repeating his shushing and cooing until the horse started to calm down. He carefully walked up closer to the horse and started to pet it as the horse sniffed his hand.

“That’s a good girl.” Gordon said before he mounted the horse.

“Hey, are you ready, Mr. Freeman?” Tommy asked as he got Bubby up onto his horse.

“Yeah I’m ready.”

Everyone rode back into town only to find a large crowd of people standing outside the bank. It was really strange, what happened while they were gone?

“Tommy, you and Gordon go see what the commotion at the bank is about while I put Forzen in his cell.”

“You got it sheriff Coomer!” Tommy said as he dismounted from his horse and started walking quickly to the bank. Gordon hopped off quickly and ran to catch up with Tommy.

“Is the bank being robbed? Why are there people surrounding it?” Gordon asked.

“I don’t know, Mr. Freeman, but I doubt it is a robbery due to there barely being any money in the bank itself. Plus the crowd of people don’t seem to be scared.”

They both approached the bank and saw an employee standing outside shouting about standing back and waiting for the lawmen to get back into town. They both walked up to the man, with Tommy having a friendly grin to help the nerves of the bank employee.

“Oh, finally you’re here! There’s a man trapped in the vault!”

“A man trapped in the vault? What do you mean by that?” Tommy asked

“As in, he is trapped in the vault! We can hear him banging on the vault door and screaming to get out.”

“How the hell did he get in?” Gordon asked

“I have no clue.” Replied the man.

“Well, looks like we’ll need to get him out and ask some questions.” Tommy said as the three of them entered the bank and marched towards the vault.

“Alright! Open it up!” Shouted the bank employee.

The vault doors swung open to reveal a man standing in there with long shaggy black hair, yellow eyes, skin so pale that it had a tint of blue to it, and a shadow covering the top of his face. He wore black pants, boots, shirt, and a jacket. Only thing that wasn’t black was his vest, which was a dark blue.

“Hey Tommy.” Said the man with a nonchalant tone while leaning against the wall.

“B-Benry? How in hell did you get yourself stuck in there?”

“Wait, you know this man?” Gordon asked Tommy while gesturing towards Benry

“Oh yeah, me and Benry are best friends.”

“It’s because he likes mean people.” Benry added in.

“I- shouldn’t we put him in jail for trying to rob the bank?” Gordon said, trying to understand how this even happened.

“Yeah, but he always finds a way out, and he doesn’t really hurt anyone so we always let him go.”

“I can phase through walls and shit.” Benry said with a massive grin, revealing sharp teeth.

That smile made a chill go down Gordon’s spine, there was something very wrong with this man. And that statement made no sense, that’s entirely impossible.

“Hey, who’s this tall glass of water?” Benry asked while pointing at Gordon.

That comment made Gordon become flustered, he could feel the blood rushing to his face. “Why the hell is the man I’m going to arrest trying to court me?” Gordon thought to himself.

Gordon snapped out of his thoughts and grabbed Benry firmly by the arm.

“Alright, come on, you’re going to jail for attempted robbery of a bank.”

“Nice.” Benry said, enjoying being dragged by Gordon.

“You must be a real strong man. I like that.” Benry said, before Gordon slapped him.

“Quiet you!” Gordon said, holding back his blush.

Gordon and Tommy walked on over to the sheriff’s office as the crowd parted to make way, all of them closely watching Benry as he was dragged away.

“You know, Benry usually puts up more of a fight than this.” Tommy said

“Yeah?” Gordon asked, looking at Tommy then back to Benry.

“Yeah, usually he tries running away or something, he doesn’t usually go in willingly.”

“Oh so you want me to run away?” Benry said with a mischievous smirk.

“I swear to god if you try running away I will shoot you.” Gordon said to Benry

“Woah woah, okay I get it, you don’t want me running off.” 

Gordon and Tommy dragged him through the doorway of the sheriff’s office to see Coomer sitting at the desk with Forzen in a cell behind him.

“Ah, I see you’ve met our local bandit, Benry. Despite somehow always escaping, he’s very much harmless.” Coomer said as he gestured to Benry.

“Go and put him in the cell over there.”

Tommy dragged Benry and tossed him into the cell right before removing his revolver.

“Has Forzen said anything?” Gordon asked Coomer.

“Not a single word, he’s been completely silent the entire time and won’t answer any of my questions about Joshua. All he’s doing is sitting in the corner of the cell. If you want to ask him, be my guest.” Coomer said as he put his feet back up.

“Oh, by the way.” Coomer then pulled a deputy badge out from a desk drawer and onto the table. “I think you’ve earned it.”

“I… thank you sheriff but I’ve only been here a week.” Gordon said, trying to politely decline.

“I know.” Coomer said as he took out a wooden pipe and lit it.

“Shouldn’t you give that badge to someone who lives here?” Asked Gordon.

“Not really.” Coomer replied.

“Why?” Gordon said with a confused look on his face.

“Because they’re all stupid, and you’re not stupid!” Coomer responded in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Am I stupid?” Tommy asked.

“Of course not, Tommy. And if someone calls you stupid I will gladly shoot them.” Coomer said, as if it was a completely normal thing to say.

Gordon then realized that Coomer had a screw loose and likely wasn’t the most stable person here. What kind of town did Gordon have the misfortune of running into to have a sheriff like Coomer.

“Well Gordon, aren’t you going to take the badge?” Coomer asked.

“Y-yeah.” Gordon said as he picked up the badge from the desk.

Gordon decided that if he was going to survive long enough to find Joshua, he might as well be on the sheriff’s good side.

“Well, since you’re deputy your job now is to watch the holding cells at night with Tommy.” Coomer said while leaning back in his chair.

“Wait, you're just letting me watch over a dangerous man immediately after becoming a deputy?” Gordon asked Coomer with a concerned look.

“Yep!” Coomer said with enthusiasm.

Gordon realized that arguing with Coomer would get him nowhere at best. He gave a sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose, 

“Alright, fine. I’ll do night duty with Tommy.”

“Excellent! Go get some rest, Gordon and Tommy. Be here by 9.”

“Got it, Coomer.” Tommy said as he tipped his hat and started to walk back to the house with Gordon following.

“Hey Tommy?” Gordon asked as they walked down the dirt road.

“Yeah?”

“Is Coomer always like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like… like he isn’t completely there?”

“Oh, I know what you mean, Mr. Freeman, but he’s a good man and he does a good job keeping the town safe. Hell, I bet Mesa Springs would be a ghost town by now without Coomer.”

“I guess…”

“Why? What’s wrong Gordon?”

“It’s just… I’m stuck in a town in the middle of the desert with my son likely terrified for his life and my only chance of finding Joshua lies in the hands of Coomer, who isn’t completely sane.”

“Aw Gordon I-.... Gordon I promise you that we’ll find your son.” Tommy said as he put a hand on Gordon’s shoulder.

“I…” Gordon gave a sigh, he was so tired and so anxious, all he wanted was his son, “Thank you, Tommy...”

“Gordon, it’s the least I can do for you.”

The two of them made it into the house and slept the afternoon away. Gordon woke to Tommy’s usual knock on the door.

“Hey Mr. Freeman! Time to get ready for the night shift!” Tommy yelled through the door.

“Yeah, I’m getting ready!” Gordon replied as he put his boots and gun belt on.

Soon they both got down stairs and started heading towards the sheriff’s office. When they entered they saw Coomer sitting in a chair relaxing as he smoked from his worn out wooden pipe.

“Ah, hello Gordon! Hello Tommy! Nice to see you two on this fine evening!” Coomer said as he handed Tommy the keys to the jail cells.

“Good luck on your first night, Gordon!” Coomer said as he sat up and left the office.

Gordon stood there with a confused look on his face trying to understand why Coomer would just walk out without even explaining the basics.

“Did… did he seriously just leave without telling me anything about this job?”

“Yeah Coomer does that, but don’t worry, I’ll make sure you get familiar with the basic way of doing things.”

“Thanks, Tommy.”

“No problem.”

The night passed by quietly after Tommy explained the basics. Benry would sometimes be walking around his cell, looking outside of the window. Forzen was on his cot, not even looking at anything except for the wall.

“Hey Gordon?”

“Yeah Tommy?”

“I need to… to be frank, I need to relieve myself. Can you give them their dinners?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Tommy left the office, leaving Gordon by himself. Gordon grabbed the plate full of beans and a slice of bread. He slide the plate into a small slot at the bottom of the floor, making sure to keep himself as far away as possible. He saw Benry’s eyes and it looked as if… they were glowing yellow. Gordon studied Benry’s face for a bit until he was interrupted with a comment.

“You getting lost in my eyes, Gordo Freeman?” Benry said with a mischievous smile, showing off his sharp teeth.

That damn smile always sent a chill down Gordon’s spine.

“Oh, shut the hell up or you won’t be eating.”

Gordon said as he got up and grabbed another plate to place into Forzen’s cell. Even with a gun on his side and a cell separating the two, it was terrifying getting anywhere close to that man. Gordon kept himself as far away as possible as he slid the plate into Forzen’s cell.

Gordon’s eyes turned to the side when he heard the creak of a board. It couldn’t be Tommy because he would announce himself, and obviously whoever made that noise was trying to be quiet. Gordon quickly turned around pulling his revolver when he saw Benry standing at the desk with a hand in the drawer.

“How the fuck did you do that!” Gordon screamed as he pointed his gun at Benry.

“What, Freeman? Didn’t believe me when I said I could go through walls?” Benry said as he gave a big smile showing all of his sharp teeth, taking a step forward.

Gordon took a step back, holding his revolver with a shaky hand as a wave of fear came over him.

“Take one more step, a-and I’ll shoot!” Gordon shouted at Benry

Benry took another step forward, testing his luck, causing Gordon to take a step back when he felt his back against the cell bars. An arm wrapped around Gordon’s neck and started choking him. 

“Gack!” 

Was the only thing that could come out of Gordon’s mouth. He tried pulling away but Forzen squeezed harder. He then fired a shot into the roof to get Tommy’s attention. His lungs were burning in pain as he saw Benry pulling his gun belt from the desk drawer and running away. It felt like forever with the pain he was in, it was hard to keep his arms up as everything started to get fuzzy. Only thing he could see were two figures running into the doorway.

“Let go of Freeman now or I’ll shoot!” Shouted Tommy as he aimed his gun at Forzen’s head.

Forzen scowled and released his grip, causing Gordon to drop on the floor with him wheezing for air. Tommy helped Gordon up from the floor and away from Forzen’s cell.

“Where’s Benry?”

“He…” Gordon wheezed, “he escaped. He got his gun belt and ran off”

“Well shit… didn’t think he would cause you harm, Freeman.” Coomer said

“Are you gonna be okay, Gordon?” Tommy asked

“Yeah… yeah I’ll be fine” Gordon coughed. “I need to breathe for a second and I’ll go after Benry.”

“But Mr. Freeman, what if he hurts you?”

Tommy said with a worried look in his face.

“Gordon, I’m not going to let you go after him. Besides, he’s likely long gone by now. Right now you need to rest.”

Coomer said as he helped Gordon to the chair. Gordon was breathing heavily, trying to steady his breath.

“Do you need me to get Doctor Bubby?”

“Yea-“ Gordon gave a wheeze, “yeah.”

“Alright, I’ll go get him!” Tommy said as he ran out of the office and towards Bubby’s house.

Coomer stood by Gordon to make sure he was fine, the entire place was silent apart from the chirping of insects outside and the occasional howl of an owl, interrupted by Gordon occasionally coughing for air, when Bubby walked into the office, dressed in only pants, a shirt, and whatever shoes he could slip on.

“What the fuck did you get yourself into that needed me to wake up in the middle of the night!” Bubby shouted at Gordon.

“He nearly got himself choked to death!” Tommy snapped at Bubby.

“How the hell did he do that?”

“I… I don’t know. All I knew is when I heard a gunshot and ran in to see Forzen choking poor Gordon.” Tommy said.

Gordon opened his mouth to speak about what happened, nothing but coughing came out.

“Oh shit…” Bubby said realizing how badly Forzen hurt Gordon.

“Alright, give me a second and I’ll see what’s happening.” Bubby spoke as he opened his doctor's bag and removed a stethoscope.

Bubby then placed the ear pieces into his ear and the stethoscope onto Gordon’s chest.

“I need you to breathe deeply for me.”

Gordon breathed in and out deeply, wincing a bit in pain.

“Hm… well you’re not going to die, thankfully. You’re gonna have to stop talking for the night, though.” Bubby said as he put the stethoscope back into his bag.

“I… I think I should stay here, to make sure Gordon doesn’t get any more hurt tonight.” Bubby said

Gordon was a bit surprised to hear Bubby care about him and not simply mock him or call him a “dumbass”.

“I didn’t know you liked Gordon, Doctor! You always called him an idiot.” Coomer said

“Just because he’s a fucking idiot doesn’t mean I shouldn’t care, I am a doctor after all.” Bubby said

Gordon found it nice hearing about people caring about him for once, even if it includes being called a dumbass. They all rested in the office, keeping a watchful eye on Gordon. Tommy even brought a book and his dog, Sunkist.

Gordon would have told them he didn’t need to be watched by everyone, but he wasn’t able to talk so all he could do was sit and rest while Tommy read a book to Gordon. Tommy alway loved telling stories, and while Gordon could easily read the books himself, it was nice listening to Tommy do the voices of the characters. It was pleasant being surrounded by people who cared about you, and it felt even better having a massive golden retriever resting their head on your lap as you gently pet them.

Benry was riding down the dirt road away from town towards an outpost where boats would dock at the river. The entire place was known for being home to thieves and bandits, and after every successful bank robbery or escape from jail he would boast about it, usually ending in a brawl with someone tired of him talking. Benry couldn’t help but feel bad for Gordon, leaving him to be choked out by some nasty man in a jail cell. 

“He’ll be fine… besides, at worst, Bubby will patch him up.” Benry said to make himself feel better.

Benry could clearly see through the pitch black of the desert as if it was day. He could see the snakes and lizards running through the sand and coyotes hunting for food. It was nice being under the darkness of night, it was comforting being the only one who could see in this darkness. He saw the lights in the distance, he knew that he was drawing closer to Red Water. 

He rode his horse into the road through town, lights pouring out of the businesses lining the dirt street. He stopped in front of a saloon and hopped off his horse, walking in with the confidence and swagger of a gunslinger.

As he walked through the saloon doors with his usual big cocky smile, people in their seats and at the bar took only a slight glance over to Benry before returning to their drinking.

Benry went up to the bar and placed down two quarters.

“Whisky for me.”

The bartender gave a sigh upon seeing Benry and poured him a shot of whisky.

Benry knew well that any regular at the saloon hated his guts, but he preferred it this way. Nobody remembers you for being nice, so why not be remembered for something. A man wearing a dark blue suit went up next to him, he had piercing green eyes, gloves, and short trimmed hair that formed a widow’s peak.

“I’ll have… a beer, please.” The man said as he gently placed down two quarters onto the saloon bar.

The stranger gently picked up his beer and took a sip before speaking.

“Weren’t you the man that tried robbing the bank back in Mesa Springs?”

That comment made Benry slowly reach for his revolver and gave the stranger a side glance, ready to defend himself.

“Oh, don’t take my comment as anything… I was… merely asking. I’ve always… had an interest in well known bandits such as yourself…” the man said as he slowly turned to face Benry

“Oh yeah? And why would someone in a suit and tie have any interest in me?” Benry said as he gripped his pistol.

“Oh… it’s for an…” the man said as he pulled out a small notebook

Benry pulled out his gun and pointed it at the man in the suit.

“Ah… I can understand your uneasiness… all I want is just your autograph…” said the man as he held the notebook out to Benry.

Benry looked down at the book and then up at the stranger in confusion.

“Why would you want my autograph?” Benry asked as he put his gun down slightly.

“Oh so I could have it be part of a new cigarette card collection… this issue we’re doing “bandits of the west”... and hearing about how you escaped from jail multiple times has earned you some form of… infamy…”

Benry holstered his weapon as his face showed even more confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Well… how about I explain it to you at a table…” the man said as he stopped leaning against the bar.

Benry stood there for a moment thinking it through. He looked over the man and saw that there wasn’t any way he could be hiding anything, the suit clung to his body as tight as skin.

“Alright… let’s take a seat…” Benry said

They walked over to an empty nearby table as they both took a seat at the table. The man pulled out his notebook.

“Here you go, sign right here.” The man said as he gave Benry a fancy pen.

Benry looked at the notebook and realized he was never taught how to read or write beyond the very basics. He sat there for a moment trying to think of how to write a “signature”.

“People just write in fancy scribbles, would anyone even notice?” Benry thought to himself

He put down a couple of squiggles and a loop to try to pass it off as a signature. He handed it to the stranger, who took a close look at the paper with his piercing eyes.

“Interesting…” the man said as he placed the notebook into his pocket.

“Erm… something wrong?” Benry asked.

“Oh nothing… anyways… would you mind telling me what made you… become an outlaw?” Asked the stranger

“Oh well…” Benry said as he got deep in thought. He obviously couldn’t tell his life story, but he might as well tell some of the truth.

“I want to be remembered. I don’t want my name to be forgotten. Like look at all those people in history, they all did something to be remembered, usually something bad, though.”

“Is that so?” The stranger said with an interested look on his face

“Oh yeah. I mean, I’m already a bad person, why not at least be remembered by people.” Benry said as he leaned back in his chair.

“And you’re not worried about lawmen killing you?” The man asked

“Oh no, not really. The town I hover close to is full of idiots. Well… except Tommy, but he’s too good of a man to kill me.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, the sheriff always puts me in a cell whenever he catches me, I always break out. It’s become a routine.” Benry said as he stretched his arms out.

“Aren’t you worried about that new deputy killing you? What was his name…. Ah yes, deputy Freeman…”

“How’d you know he’s a deputy? He just became one today.” Benry said as his eyes narrowed.

“Oh Benry… my job is to know what happens out in the middle of nowhere… besides… a man that desperate to find his son would probably gladly kill you if it means being closer to finding his son… one less bandit to bother with would mean… faster progress on reuniting…” said the man as he stood up from the table.

“Oh and… keep the pen… consider it a gift…” the stranger said right before walking out of the saloon doors.

Benry got up and tried following the man, wanting to know where he even got that information, but when he stepped outside the stranger was nowhere to be seen, as if he disappeared into the air itself.


	3. The Tower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking a while, I got sidetracked with a bunch of other projects. Hope you guys are okay with this short chapter.

Benry looked around trying to see where the man went, but even with his ability to see in the pitch black of night, there was no trace of that man’s existence beyond a memory and a pen.

He entered the saloon again to buy another drink, trying to figure out what to do. The thought of Gordon killing him kept on replaying in his head. What started with one drink ended up becoming five as Benry stumbled out of the saloon and onto his horse. He decided if Benry was ever going to be remembered as something, he would have to kill Gordon Freeman, or end up being killed.

Benry rode up to the edge of Mesa Springs and hopped off his horse. He snuck behind the office as if he was a bobcat stalking his prey. The bandit waited and listened, trying to find the right moment to pounce onto Freeman; the queue to hunt came as Benry listened in on the conversation.

“Gordon, are you able to walk back home?” Asked Coomer.

Gordon gave a nod and stood up, ready to leave the sheriff’s office.

“Wait, Freeman, shouldn’t I go with you?” Tommy asked, wanting to make sure Gordon was alright.

Gordon shook his head, certain he would be fine walking back alone.

“Well… alright then. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to come get me.” Tommy said

“Good night, Gordon.” Coomer said as he watched Gordon walk out of the office and into the street.

The crescent moon hung above Gordon in the night sky as the wind blew through the town. It was like listening to something whispering in the air, only being interrupted by the chirping of crickets and the howling of coyotes off in the distance. The cold and bitter air filled Gordon’s lungs as he continued to walk down the dirt road, but he couldn’t shrug off this feeling of something watching him. 

Gordon looked around trying to peer through the darkness to find whatever had been watching him when suddenly something pounced onto Gordon, pinning him onto the ground with a knife ready to plunge into Gordon’s throat. He grabbed onto the knife and struggled with keeping it away from his throat, when the perpetrator started speaking.

“You made me be baaaad so now I gotta be baaaad!”

Shouted the man as he tried plunging the knife.

Gordon recognized that voice and realized it was Benry, the same man who left him to choke. Gordon tried to scream out for help but the only thing that could come out was wheezing and coughing. Benry’s knife came closer and closer to Gordon’s throat as he used most of the energy he had left to fight for his life when Benry stopped and looked behind him. The sounds of shouting and hooves stomping onto the ground took Benry’s attention off of the deputy, giving Gordon enough time to get the knife away and punch the bandit right between the eyes. 

Soon the buildings lining the street started to catch fire as gunshots rang out into the air, Gordon pulled his revolver and ran towards the sheriff’s office to help Tommy and Coomer defend the town, but Gordon felt himself get grabbed and pulled aside by some men as they hog tied him and put a sack over his head; Gordon tried to escape the ropes in vain as the men carried him off.

Benry sat up from the ground rubbing his face when he looked up and saw Gordon get carried away by the men.

“Oh god damn it!”

Benry shouted as he got onto his horse and followed after the men. He didn’t know why, but something in him compelled him to at least get Gordon back, despite moments before trying to kill him.

Meanwhile Tommy, Coomer, and Bubby were firing off their weapons while trapped inside the office, taking a stand against Forzen’s gang. The desk and chairs were piled against the door as men kept on slamming against the door, trying to lay siege to the sheriff’s office.

“What the hell are we going to do?!” Shouted Bubby as he fired out of the windows with a rifle.

“I don’t know! We’ve never been attacked like thi-“

Coomer’s words were cut off as the wall at Forzen’s cell was blown up. Causing debris to fly all over the place. Forzen gave a shit eating grin as he brushed dust off of his coat and walked outside to his gang members, all of them whooping and shouting in cheer. Soon the gun fire died down as the thunderous sound of many horse hooves beating into the dirt faded away. The attack was so fast that none of them were certain about what to do next.

“Are… are they gone?” Tommy asked as he held Sunkissed close to him, holding a revolver in his right hand.

Bubby peeked from the windows and his jaw dropped.

“Holy shit! They set the town on fire!” Shouted Bubby as he saw the flames rising from the buildings.

Without hesitation Coomer ripped the chairs and desk away from the door and went outside. Coomer’s first instinct was to head inside the buildings to get people out, but before he entered he shouted towards Tommy and Bubby.

“Get the water! You need to stop the fires from spreading and get everyone out as fast as we can or more people are going to die!”

Coomer entered the burning building without even flinching from the flames, and the smoke somehow had no effect on him. He soon came out carrying two people over his shoulders and gently placed them onto the ground. Coomer then entered the next building and looked for more survivors.

Meanwhile Tommy and Bubby were frantically carrying back and forth buckets of water as they doused the flames and prevented its spread to other buildings, with more and more towns folk joining the help of putting out the flames. The streets were filled with many terrified and confused people, shouting for their family and trying to get their prized possessions out of their homes before the flames could get close. It was absolute chaos as Tommy tried to navigate the filled streets carrying buckets of water, while Sunkissed went off by herself to get people out of burning homes. 

“Where’s Gordon?!” Tommy asked Bubby, trying to speak above the commotion.

“I got no fucking clue!” Replied Bubby as he threw the water onto the flames.

The entire town was lit up like torches against the dark night sky of the desert. Were it not for the gunfire from Forzen’s gang, many more townsfolk would have perished in their sleep from the fires.

Benry was riding down the road, having all of his focus on the gang members riding down the dirt roads. He kept on following from a distance as if he were a cougar stalking a prey animal, making sure his eyes didn't move from the gang members. He followed them to a small encampment at an abandoned farmstead off the road. Benry got off his horse and snuck at the edge of the camp, he could see most of the gang members dancing around the fire and drinking booze as they celebrated the return of Forzen, their gang leader. Forzen stood up on some crates and took a big swing from a bottle before he started giving a speech.

“Bonjour mon amie! We showed those bastards in Mesa Springs a thing or two, and look at who we were able to bring back!” Forzen said as he gestured to a man on his knees with a sack on his head.

The men removed the sack to reveal it was Gordon. He was breathing heavily and tried to say something, but nothing except for some coughs and wheezes came out.

“How does it feel to be a prisoner, you little shit?” Forzen said as he gave a swift punch to Gordon’s stomach, causing Gordon to go into a coughing fit.

“Well shit, didn’t realize I fucked you up that badly. Put him in the barn, and don’t rough him up. I want him alive.”

The men soon dragged Gordon away towards the barn where a single man stood guard. Benry watched as he waited for the opportunity to sneak into the barn. He was as slow and as careful as he could be, hiding behind crates and wagons, avoiding being seen by the guards. He went to the back of the barn and phased through the walls in a puff of dark blue smoke.

Gordon looked at him with wide eyes, unable to process what Benry just did. Gordon was also not to keen on his rescuer; the memory of Benry trying to murder him still fresh in his mind. Benry placed a finger over his lips to signal to Gordon to stay quiet as Benry slowly creeped up behind the lone guard and pulled out his knife. He was behind the guard, putting one hand over the man’s mouth and the knife across his throat as the man fell into Benry’s arms. He gently placed the body to the side and went to Gordon, starting to cut off his bindings. Benry noticed Gordon was mouththing some words, looked as if he was trying to say “behind you”.

Soon Benry felt the sharp pain of a knife dig into his back, causing Benry to scream out in pain. Benry quickly turned around and pulled his revolver from his holster right after he dropped his knife and shot the man in the head. Gordon took the knife and cut himself free from the ties.

“Shit! We need to get out of here!” Benry shouted as he helped Gordon up from the ground. 

They both ran out of the barn and away from the camp as many voices rang out, most of them shouting about Gordon escaping. Benry was running towards his horse when a man jumped out and tackled Benry, stabbing a second knife into Benry’s back. Gordon grabbed a rock from the ground and smashed it onto the bandit’s head while Benry screamed out in more pain. Benry steadied himself and shot the unconscious bandit in the head before continuing their escape.

Benry and Gordon reached the horse, with Benry helping Gordon up despite the protests of pain from his back, with two knives still inside. Gordon could barely speak and could only talk in a faint whisper.

“Should I remove the knives?”

Benry turned his head to the side to speak.

“No, that’ll… that’ll make the bleeding worse…” Benry mumbled as he had the horse ride off as fast as it could.

Benry could barely focus on the road ahead of him from; both the pain and blood loss made it a Sisyphean task. Gang members on horses tried to follow in pursuit, but Benry knew every single road and shortcut like the back of his hand, making it easy to lose them in the desert as they escaped back to Mesa Springs, or what was left of it.

Gordon held onto Benry as the horse galloped through the pitch black, unable to know where they were going. He couldn’t help but stare at the two knives jutting out of his rescuer’s back. This made no sense to Gordon, why would Benry go off and save him? He couldn’t have been planning on killing Gordon due to the fact that he got himself stabbed and could have easily slit Gordon’s throat or left him to his fate with the gang.

Soon the town of Mesa Springs came into view, but there were the lights of lanterns scattered throughout the town and what looked like tents. Gordon remembered the fire the gang started as he felt something growing in the pit of his stomach as the thought of his friends, along with innocent people, being murdered filled his mind.

Benry had even more trouble focusing on the road as he could barely keep himself sitting up straight. When they finally made it into Mesa Springs they could see so many townsfolk filling the streets with whatever possessions they could save. 

Bubby, Tommy, and Coomer looked up to see Benry and Gordon riding in. They all got up and ran over to see what happened when Benry fell off his horse, revealing two knives sticking out of his back.

“Holy shit!” Bubby exclaimed as he tried picking up Benry. “A little help here!” Bubby said as Coomer came over and lifted up Benry.

Tommy helped Gordon from the horse.

“Are you okay Gordon? Did they hurt you?”

Gordon shook his head as Tommy brought him inside the house on the hill. There were so many people inside the house itself, sleeping on the floor, occupying the guest rooms, and some could only sit on chairs and cry about losing their homes. When Tommy entered with Gordon people watched as they walked by.

“I-I’m certain Benry is g-gonna be fine, Gordon.” Tommy said, trying to fake a smile.

His smile soon faded as he realized that hiding what happened wouldn’t help anything. Tommy gave a long sigh as he got Gordon to his room.

“I’ll be honest with you, Freeman. This night has been shit; a lotta people lost their homes, and some lost their families. I-I don’t know what to do.” Tommy said

Gordon couldn’t speak but he gently placed his hand on Tommy’s shoulder and mouthed the words “it’s gonna be okay”.

“I… thank you Gordon. You should get some rest, I’ll make sure everyone else is okay…” Tommy said as he left Gordon’s room.

Gordon got himself comfortable, or as comfortable as he could, and laid in his bed. It felt like forever as he laid there, but he was finally able to drift to sleep. Gordon found himself in the pitch black void again, at the table with a piece of paper and a pen in hand.

“It’s… nice to see you again… Gordon Freeman…”

Said an all too familiar voice at this point, speaking in their usual awkward inflections.

“Not you again…” Gordon said as he looked at the stranger in the suit and tie.

“Oh but it is me again… mister Freeman… you see, I did… warn you about… unforeseen consequences… the way I work prevents me from… interfering with your situation unless… I was given permission to…”

“Okay… what does that have to do with this contract?” Gordon asked as he looked over the paper.

“It’s… to finalize a deal… the deal of protecting my son while I ensure you will… find yours… while I would tell you to take your time, Mr. Freeman, we both know… that we don’t have much of that… read as you must, but this is your final offer…”

Gordon looked down at the contract and quickly read through it. Everything was like what the stranger said, in exchange for protecting Tommy, Gordon shall be reunited with Joshua. Gordon thought long and hard, he then took the pen and placed it onto the paper.

“Fine… I’ll sign…” Gordon said as he put his signature at the bottom of the contract.

The table disappeared and the man sat up and walked on over to Gordon. He slowly put a hand out and Gordon shook it, feeling a slight twinge of pain in his hand, causing Gordon to pull his hand back and shook it.

“Wise choice, Mister Freeman…” the stranger said as he slowly faded back into the darkness while he put his fingers together.

Suddenly it felt like Gordon tripped and fell as he woke up in his bed, still reeling from his dream. Gordon sat up and looked at his hand to see a strange symbol, it was a lambda symbol. Gordon was confused, what did the symbol mean? Did the stranger leave this on him when they shook hands in the dream? Gordon traced the symbol on his hand, it was completely flat, as if it was deep in his skin.

“That… can’t be good…” Gordon said as he continued to examine his hand.

The sudden knock on the door ripped Gordon from his thoughts. Tommy’s voice coming through.

“Are you feeling any better, Mr. Freeman?” Asked Tommy.

“Yeah, I am. Thanks for asking.” Gordon replied.

“If you can, mind if you help Bubby? He needs someone to help tending to people.” Tommy said.

“Yeah sure, I can do that.” Said Gordon.

Gordon put his clothes on and walked out to see people in the living room doing many different tasks. Knitting, reading, anything to keep themselves busy and distracted from what happened last night.

Out in the town itself people were already rebuilding the buildings meanwhile at the edge of town were funerals being held for those that didn’t make it. It was surreal to see the after effects of what Forzen’s gang did and how quickly people were rebuilding.

Gordon walked up to the doctor’s office, seeing the outside touched by the flames. When Gordon entered the inside of the building was untouched. People were sitting about while Bubby applied aloe vera to people with burns on their bodies.

“Hey Bubby, any way I can help?” Gordon asked.

“Yes. Follow me.” Bubby said as he finished the final patient and went into the back.

Gordon followed Bubby to the back rooms where people laid in beds in their own rooms, one of the, was Benry. He was covered in bandages and laid completely still in his bed, the only sign of life was his breathing. He looked away and continued to follow Bubby, trying not to think about Benry.

The entire day passed with Gordon following Bubby around and helping with many different patients, the people in the worst shape are the ones who suffered from smoke inhalation. At the end of the day Gordon was completely sapped of his energy and he had to take a seat in a chair. The sun had gone down leaving the sky with a purple hue.

“Gordon…” Bubby said, with a bit of unease on his face.

“What’s up?” Gordon asked as he redid his ponytail and moved hair out of his face.

“I… I don’t know how… comfortable you would be with helping me change Benry’s bandages, since you know… he tried killing you and all…” Bubby said as he fidgeted with his fingers.

“How’d you know he tried killing me?” Gordon asked.

“Benry told me all about what happened last night.”

“Oh… well… he did save my life…” Gordon then sighed, “I might as well return the favor…” said Gordon as he stood up and wiped his brow with his sleeve.

They entered Benry’s room to see him sitting up and staring out the window, his attention was entirely on the sky. Bubby gave a gentle knock on the open door so as to not catch Benry by surprise.

“I’m guessing you’re starting to feel better, Benry?” Bubby asked.

“Whuh?” 

Benry asked as he turned to face the doorway; he saw Gordon and looked away, he felt shame wash over him. Even though he did end up rescuing Gordon, the fact that Benry was ready to murder a man in cold blood, it left him with a sick taste in his mouth.

“Yeah… I’m fine…” Benry muttered.

“Well, Gordon and I are going to be changing your bandages, if you don’t mind.” Bubby said.

“Yeah just… do it quick…” mumbled Benry.

Benry was without any shirt and had only his pants, he already felt as vulnerable as is, and now Gordon is gonna be here to change his bandages.

Benry lifted his arms as Bubby simply unraveled the bandages. It was obvious Bubby was more focused on getting the job done than being gentle when he accidentally bumped his hand into Benry’s back, causing him to hiss out in pain.

“Shit, stay still will you?” Bubby said.

“That’s kinda hard when you’re being fucking clumsy, man.” Hissed out Benry.

Bubby finished removing the bandages and got the clean ones ready to wrap.

“Hey Gordon, since I already taught you how to do bandages, mind if you do Benry for me? I need... erm… a break.” Bubby said.

“Uh yeah, I can.” Gordon said.

Bubby walked out of the room as he pulled a flask of whisky from his coat pocket and started drinking. Gordon was standing there with bandages in hand. He started dressing Benry’s wounds, making sure he was gentle as he wrapped the bandages. Gordon couldn’t help but notice how warm Benry was to the touch, and how when he's vulnerable he's less intimidating and more… soft… Gordon got lost in his thoughts as he continued to gently wrap the bandages around Benry's wounds. Gordon couldn’t help but keep on asking himself the question.

“Hey Benry…” Gordon said.

“Huh?” Responded Benry.

“Why did you do it?” Asked Gordon.

Anxiety overtook Benry, he was scared that Gordon was going to try killing him for ambushing him and attempting murder, his body became stiff.

“Wh… what do you mean?” Benry asked as his pupils dilated, it had been a long time since Benry ever felt as scared as he did now.

“As in… why did you save me? Especially right after you tried to kill me?” Gordon said as he finished the last of the bandages.

Benry stood there, trying to think of a reason. Not even Benry himself knew why he decided to go out of his way to save Gordon Freeman. He thought up of an answer he was certain would fit his outlaw persona.

“It was uh… it was so I could save you for myself…” Benry muttered.

“Benry… I know you’re bullshitting me. I want a real reason as to why you saved me.” Gordon said as he locked eyes with Benry.

“I… I don’t know, man…” Benry said as he looked away from Gordon.

They both sat in the room, not saying a single word, as they watched the sun set over Mesa Springs.


	4. The World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long to write an update. A mixture of other projects along with burnout made it where it took me a while, but better late than never. Thank you to everyone who still supports my writing, it means so much to me.

There was commotion outside the sheriff’s office where a massive crowd had gathered, many of them carrying weapons ranging from guns to pitchforks.

“We want to see the sheriff! He failed to protect the town and now he’s buddy buddy with a bandit! He deserves to be hanged!” Shouted a man in the front of the crowd.

“Now hold on! I know you’re all upset about what happened, but violence won’t solve anything! I implore you all to not do anything drastic!” Tommy said, trying to calm down the mob.

“Implore?! He implores us to be civil? He’s the same dumbass who’s friends with the bandit!” Shouted a woman.

“W-well what do you want me to do? I-I can’t hang him or anything! Please, just tell me what you folks want, an-and maybe we can come to an agreement.” Tommy said as he put his hands up, trying to reason with the growing crowd.

“We want the sheriff, his deputies, and that bandit outta this town by sundown!” Replied the man at the front of the crowd.

“I-I’ll go and-and talk to the sheriff th-then!” Tommy said as he entered the sheriff’s office.

Coomer and Gordon were sitting at the desk, trying to figure out what to do.

“Coomer, the town folk want us out of here before sundown!” Tommy said as he put his back against the door.

“Well… shit.” Coomer said as he got up from the desk and started packing things into a box.

“Looks like we’ll have to oblige the town folk and get out of here.” Said Coomer.

“Wait, what about Forzen? What about Joshua? We need to track them down!” Gordon said.

“Oh we’ll get them back, Gordon. I’ll be honest, no longer being sheriff now gives me more freedom to track down your son’s kidnapper. No need to focus on protecting the town anymore, and I don’t need to worry about some stupid laws.” Replied Coomer.

“So… we’re going to allow ourselves to get chased out of town so we can follow Forzen?” Gordon asked.

“Precisely!” Coomer said with enthusiasm.

Gordon tried not to show how tense and terrified he was, he was certain that if there was a riot, he’d be the first one to be targeted. But what else was there? He had no other option but to be chased out with the group.

“Should-should I go outside and tell them we’ll leave before sunset?” Tommy asked.

“Yes.” Coomer said.

After Tommy went outside to speak with the leader of the town mob, Coomer started getting things packed away on the wagon. The entire afternoon was spent with everyone packing away what they had onto the wagon and getting everything ready. 

Gordon was inside the house getting what he needed packed and ready. He was walking down the hallway when he heard what sounded like… sobbing coming from Tommy's room. Gordon put his ear against the door and gave a gentle knock.

"Hey Tommy, you okay?" Asked Gordon.

There was a moment of silence before Tommy responded.

"I-... no… not really…"

"You wanna talk about it?"

“Yeah…”

“Can I come in?”

“Yeah.”

Gordon entered the room to see Tommy sitting on his bed with a picture frame in hand. He was slouched over as he continued to cry, with Sunkissed laying on the bed next to him, trying to offer some form of comfort.

“I-I’m sorry Mr. Freeman, I’m-I’m just doing terrible right now.” Tommy said as he continued to cry over the picture.

Gordon took a seat on the bed next to Tommy as he tried figuring out a way to comfort him. Then, the realization that Tommy was going to lose everything he had hit Gordon like a train. Weren’t it for the fires, for Forzen’s gang, for Gordon nearly dying at the edge of town, none of this would have happened. Tommy wouldn’t have to leave everything behind and go with a stranger onto the road to find a dangerous bandit leader who kidnapped a child.

“Hey, everything’s gonna be fine. I… this entire situation sucks… I’m sorry I caused this.” Gordon said.

“No you didn’t, Mr. Freeman. None of this is your fault.” Tommy said as he looked up at Gordon.

“But if it weren’t for me the town wouldn’t have been set on fire and you guys wouldn’t have been chased out.”

“Gordon, this isn’t your fault. You didn’t choose to have your son get kidnapped, you didn’t choose to be nearly killed, you didn’t choose any of this. The only ones who did choose are those who did those things. How could someone blame a man for trying to get his son back?” Tommy stood up and put the picture frame into a suitcase.

“We… we’re gonna have to cowboy up and get through this, Mr. Freeman. All of this… is gonna have a place in your life.” Tommy said as he put a hand on Gordon’s shoulder.

“I…” Gordon tried to speak but he didn’t know how to respond. It was as if Tommy removed a fog from Gordon’s mind.

“Thank you, Tommy.” Said Gordon as he stood up.

“Now, let’s go get the wagon ready, sundown is gonna come faster than you think.” Tommy said as he started to carry his items out of the room and down the stairs.

“Can I help you carry that?” Gordon asked.

“Oh no thank you, I got it. Maybe you should see what’s been keeping Benry, he should have been here a while ago.” Replied Tommy.

“Yeah I will. Uh thanks, again.”

“No problem, Gordon.” Tommy said with a smile as Gordon walked towards the doctor’s office.

When Gordon entered the place he saw so much of it had been packed away. That was strange, Bubby isn’t a deputy, and Gordon doubted the towns folk would want to chase out the only doctor for miles.

“Bubby? Hey Bubby, what are you doing?” Gordon called out.

The doctor walked into the room with some bottles in one hand, shoving them into a doctor’s bag.

“What do you want, Gordon? Can’t you see I’m fucking busy?” Bubby said.

“Uh, what are you doing?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m packing my stuff since this town full of morons decided to chase you all out.”

“But they didn’t demand you to leave.”

“And? I’m not gonna stay here in this town full of people I despise, I’d rather be with Harold.”

“Oh… well uh, I’m gonna go check up on Benry.” Gordon said as he walked past Bubby and towards Benry’s room.

“Oh have fun with that, fucker has been doing nothing but hiding in that room.” Replied Bubby.

Gordon knocked on the doorframe of Benry’s room to announce his presence, but it ended up causing Benry to jump and put his back against the wall as he became as stiff as a board, relaxing when he saw it was Gordon.

“Jesus Christ man, don’t sneak up on me like that.” Benry said.

“Sorry. Hey Benry, Tommy said you were supposed to be at the house a while ago.” Gordon said.

“Yeah I know…”

“Then why didn’t you go there?”

“Town people.”

“What?”

“Townsfolk are… they’d fucking hang me, man. I-I can’t go out there I-“ Benry stammered as his pupils dilated in fear.

“Hey it’s gonna be fine. I’ll figure out a way to get you outta here safe, okay?” Gordon said as he put both his hands on Benry’s shoulders.

Gordon’s touch caught Benry completely off guard as he stared at Gordon. It felt nice and warm, but he hadn’t been touched by someone like this in such a long time. Gordon saw Benry was staring and pulled his hands away, but Benry quickly grabbed them.

“Uh no need to uh worry about that man uh…” Benry said, not wanting Gordon to let go.

“Benry, you’re holding my hands.”

“Oh uh.” Benry said as he let go of Gordon’s hands.

Benry’s entire face soon became a pale red as he then placed his own hands onto his face, he didn’t know how to handle what he was feeling.

“You okay?” Gordon asked.

“Y-yeah man I’m f-fine it’s just-“ Benry tried speaking out but was completely cut off by blue colored smoke leaving his lips as a gentle note came from his mouth, causing Benry to clasp his hands over his face.

“What was that?!” Gordon asked.

“It’s-it’s nothing!” Benry said as he became even redder.

Soon even more blue smoke and singing came from Benry as he tried hiding his embarrassment, causing Benry to completely cover his face with his hands.

“You sure it’s nothing?! You’re having blue smoke come from your mouth!” Gordon said, his eyes wide open, trying to understand what was going on.

“It’s… agh! It’s fucking sweet voice, man. You don’t even know what it is?” Benry said as he put a blanket over himself to hide his embarrassment.

“Uh Benry, having smoke come from someone’s mouth is far from normal! No human should be able to do that!” Gordon said.

“That’s cuz uh I’m not human, stupid baby.” Benry said, hoping to get Gordon riled up so he wouldn’t have to deal with this embarrassing moment any longer.

Hearing those words caused Gordon to give out a long sigh, Benry had the emotional maturity of a five year old.

“Come on, let’s get you fucking outta here.” Gordon said.

“Wuh? How you gonna do that, Gordo?”

“Like this.” Gordon said as he grabbed Benry by his shirt collar and started dragging him out of the room.

“Woah what are you doing?!”

“You said you were scared of the townsfolk attacking you if you went out by yourself, so I’m gonna make it look like I’m dragging you to jail. Hopefully it should fool them enough.” Gordon said.

“Oh I see. Hehe, pretty smart of you.” Benry said with a smile.

“Please just shut up, and try not to look like you’re enjoying it.” Replied an already exasperated Gordon.

“Well how can I not smile while being carried by a big, handsome man?” Benry said flirtatiously.

“Oh my god… please, just shut up.” Gordon said.

-How did this fucking idiot swing from scared, to embaressed, to calling me a baby, and then to straight up flirting with me? Why do I have to be the one who has to deal with this?- Gordon thought to himself as he dragged Benry out into the street and towards the sheriff’s office.

To say that dragging Benry down to the jail was nerve wracking would have been an understatement to Gordon. So many town people were staring as he dragged the outlaw with him into the office.

“Ah, hello Gordon! Hello Benry! Are you two ready to head off?” Asked Coomer as he turned to face the two.

“I am. Don’t know about Benry, though.” Gordon said as he let go of his grasp on the outlaw.

“Yeah I’m ready, don’t really have much to pack away.” Benry said with a shrug.

“Well alright then, once Tommy gets the wagon all packed up we’ll hit the trail.” Coomer said with a smile as he clasped his hands together.

The door to the sheriff’s office swung open as Bubby entered with a bunch of bags and boxes in his arms. Bubby wasn’t wearing his usual business outfit, instead he opted to wear a light blue button up shirt with rolled up sleeves, jeans, boots, and a hat.

“Harold, I’m coming with!” Exclaimed Bubby.

“Bubby, I know you care about me but I don’t think you’d survive the road.” Coomer said.

“Oh nonsense! I’ve run across the country to run from the law, I know how to survive the roads.” Bubby replied.

“Oh nice, didn’t know Bubby’s a fellow outlaw.” Benry said with a grin.

“Oh you wish you were as wanted as me. Instead of petty theft like you, I planted explosives inside a man I was working on. Oh it was hilarious, well… not for the man, but oh well.” Bubby said with a chuckle.

“I’m sorry you did WHAT?” Gordon said, slack jawed.

“Oh that does sound rather hilarious, don’t you agree, Gordon?” Coomer said with a slight laugh.

“Haha nice. You gotta teach me how to do that someday.” Benry said.

“Ha, no.” Bubby said in a completely straight voice and tone.

“Are… are we gonna ignore what Bubby just said?” Gordon asked.

“Aw come now Gordon, Bubby was er… joking, right Bubby?” Coomer lied as he pat Gordon on the back and winked at Bubby. Coomer knew it was best to not have Gordon freak out right now and focus on leaving town instead.

“Oh uh yes! It was meant to be a jest, Gordon. What, you REALLY thought I’d do that?” Bubby said with a fake laugh. 

There was an awkward silence that filled the entire room, nobody was certain about what to say, with the only noise being from Tommy entering the office.

“Benry! There you are, where’d you been?” Tommy said with a smile.

“Ey Tommy! You ready for the road?” Benry said.

“Oh you bet. Got everything packed and re-...” Tommy saw the items in Bubby’s arms and realized he had more work to do. He took in a deep breath and grabbed the items.

“I’ll just put these in the wagon.” Tommy turned and muttered under his breath, “not as if I already spent a lot of time getting it set up and now I’m gonna have to redo everything…”.

“What was that?” Bubby asked.

“Oh it’s nothing! Don’t worry, I’ll get everything set up!” Tommy exclaimed as he went outside and got everything set up in the wagon, his happy expression changing to one of frustration once he left the office.

After Tommy finished preparing, the gang all got on their horses, ready to leave Mesa Springs one last time. Coomer manned the wagon, with his shire horse, Angus, pulling. Sunkissed happily sat in the wagon with Gordon in the back, while Bubby rode on top of Gordon’s horse alongside Benry and Tommy.

The sky was a beautiful golden yellow as the sun set behind the town, with the sky slowly turning into a shade of purple as night soon started to take over the world.

It wasn’t long until nightfall came, as the sky was dotted with stars and the moon hung overhead as life sprung within the desert. Soon the wagon pulled by the road to a clear patch of land the group could use.

“Hey why are we stopping? Thought y’all wanted to catch Forzen.” Benry asked.

“Benry, we’re tired, we need to sleep.” Tommy said as he hopped off his horse and started unpacking.

“You guys sleep?” Benry asked, puzzled.

“Yeah, Benry how the hell are you even standing if you don’t sleep?” Gordon asked, bewildered.

“I dunno, just don’t feel like sleeping.” Said Benry withe a shrug of his arms.

“Well then, that means you can be on the lookout while we sleep, Benry.” Coomer said as he slapped the back of Benry’s back and handed him a rifle.

“Harold, I’m not saying this as a way to question your judgement, but I don’t think it’s wise to let the bandit do nightwatch, especially since he already tried killing one of us.” Bubby said as he gestured over to Gordon.

“Well that’s because I’ll be part of the night watch, too.” Coomer said.

“Don’t you need to sleep?” Tommy asked.

“Nope!”

-Jesus Christ, what the fuck is Coomer? No… no fucking way he can’t be the same thing Benry is.- Gordon thought to himself. The idea of Coomer also being inhuman was a terrifying thought, even more so since he clearly had a screw loose.

Soon the camp was set up with tents and sleeping bags surrounding the campfire. Everyone was sitting and winding down from the day, Coomer was cooking meals over the campfire while Bubby was laying on his roll with a book in hand, and Tommy was sitting with Sunkissed’s head resting in his lap while he cleaned his guns, and Gordon was humming a tune.

“Hey Gordon, you like music?” Tommy asked as he looked up from his revolver.

“Hm? Oh yeah, I love singing.” Replied Gordon.

“You know how to play guitar?”

“Yeah I do, why?”

“Wanna go get my guitar from the wagon and play a bit?”

“Oh sure, if you’re okay with that.”

“‘Course I’m alright with that.”

“Thanks.” Gordon said as he got up and grabbed the guitar.

He got back down into his spot with guitar in hand and started tuning it, making sure each strum of the guitar sounded just right. When Gordon looked back up he saw everyone was watching, ready to see what Gordon would play. Gordon took a deep breath and started to play the song Far From Any Road.

“From the dusty May sun her looming shadow grows  
Hidden in the branches of the poison creosote  
She twines her spines up slowly towards the boiling sun  
And when I touched her skin, my fingers ran with blood.”

Benry watched closely as Gordon played.

-Damn, a man who sings as well as he looks? Where can I get someone like that for me?- Benry thought to himself. He then got an idea and joined in, singing the second verse.

“In the hushing dusk, under a swollen silver moon  
I came walking with the wind to watch the cactus bloom  
And stranger hunger haunted me, the looming shadows danced  
I fell down to the thorny brush and felt the trembling hands” Benry sang out as small wisps of sweet voice smoke filled the air.

Gordon looked over to Benry, surprised. He never thought Benry would join in singing, know the song, or even have that good of a singing voice, but something about that voice was hauntingly beautiful. Benry’s singing sounded like a voice in the wind, gently passing by the ear and whispering secrets.

“When the last light warms the rocks and the rattlesnakes unfold” Gordon sang in his deep voice.

“The mountain cats will come to drag away your bones” Benry followed with his whispy voice.

“And rise with me forever across the silent sand  
And the stars will be your eyes and the wind will be my hands.” Benry and Gordon’s voices joined together, creating a beautiful harmony.

When the song ended, Gordon refocused his attention on the group to see everyone were staring at the two of them.

“Bravo Gordon! That music sounded wonderful!” Coomer said as he clasped his hands together.

“Yes, it was a nice song.” Bubby said as he returned to his book.

“I think it was a wonderful song! It was also really neat seeing Benry use his sweet voice!” Said Tommy.

Gordon remembered Benry saying something about the smoke from his mouth being sweet voice, he put the guitar down and looked at Tommy.

“Wait you know what sweet voice is?” Gordon asked.

“Well… er not really. I just know that’s what Benry calls it.”

“Oh I know what that is, Gordon.” Coomer said as he handed everyone their meals.

“You do?”

“Yes, that is why I said that I know what it is.”

“Well can you tell us about it, then?”

“Why certainly! You see, sweet voice is from supernatural beings, from people who used to be human, that were transformed into Aethers by some means.”

“Wait what’s an Aether?”

“I was just about to tell you. An Aether is a term used for Sunwalkers and Moonstalkers, their powers come from the sun and moon. Sunwalkers have their powers tied to the sun and have supernatural strength, endurance, and speed.” Coomer said as he took a breather.

“Meanwhile Moonstalkers have their powers tied to, well the moon. Their powers are generally more focused on things such as illusions and emotions. Our dear companion here is one of those.” Coomer said while gesturing to Benry.

“Wait, you're an Aether?” Gordon asked Benry.

“Yeah bro. Thought everyone knew that.” Benry said as he shrugged and took another bite of his meal.

“Well I didn’t. In fact, Harold, how do you know about Aethers?” Bubby asked.

Coomer raised his finger and opened his mouth, ready to answer but stopped when he realized something. He didn’t know either. He knows that there’s a reason why he knows so much about Aethers, but whenever he tries recalling why, all he can do but draw a blank. As if a piece of his mind or memory had gone missing.

“I… I honestly don’t know. I know I had a reason for knowing such things but… I’m drawing blanks now.” Coomer said as he rubbed his chin, perplexed.

“Well today got all of us tired, so maybe you just need to give your head a break, sheri- I mean Mister Coomer.” Tommy said.

“Hm yes, you might be right Tommy. I think I’ll have a clearer head in the morning.” Coomer said as he finished his meal and got up.

“Well, I’ll be up with Benry doing the night watch. Goodnight Gordon! Goodnight Tommy! Goodnight Bubby!” Coomer said in his usual cadence right before he walked over to a chair situated on the edge of the camp with a rifle in one hand and a pipe in the other. Meanwhile Gordon left the fire, went to his small tent, and started getting ready to sleep.

The camp soon was silent, everyone uncertain about what to say or do.

“Uh y’all wanna play some cards?” Benry asked.

“You got a deck?” Bubby asked.

“Nah, left em in town.” Replied Benry.

“Well I don’t got a deck.”

“Hey Gordo, got a deck of cards?” Benry asked as he turned to Gordon.

“No, and don’t call me Gordo, I hate that name.” Gordon said with a long sigh.

“Lil Gordo Freeman not knowing how to have fu-“

“Benry that’s enough, Gordon needs to sleep.” Tommy said, interrupting Benry.

“Why?”

Tommy got close to Benry and put his hand onto his shoulder with a stern grip.

“Because he’s trying to get back his fucking son. I know we’re friends, but I’d appreciate it if you were to not make an ass of yourself right now.” Tommy said whispering to Benry.

Hearing those words coming from Tommy’s mouth caused Benry to have his entire train of thought suddenly crash into a wall. He didn’t know what to say, the only thing he could do is mumble an “okay” and look away. At this moment he realized he wasn’t in Mesa Springs anymore and he couldn’t get away with so many things like he used to do.

Benry decided to just get up and start doing nightwatch while everyone else started getting ready to rest and soon there was nothing but silence, save for the occasional howl of an animal and the chirping of a bug while the moon and stars hung above him. Then thoughts started creeping into his mind like kudzu vines creeping up and smothering the trees until there is nothing left.

-Freeman has a kid… he was just trying to get his son back and… god I really am a terrible person. What kinda man goes ridin’ into town and tries to kill a man right after he nearly gets himself choked to death? Shit… I really am a bad man, they were right to leave me out in the desert to die-

Benry’s thoughts were cut off when he felt something soft gently brushing up against him. He looked down to see Sunkissed was nudging her head into his hand.

“Aw hey there girl. You okay?” Benry asked as he petted the timber wolf sized dog.

“I have a feeling tonight’s gonna be a long night, Sunkissed.” Benry said as he looked up on the moon in the sky.

The long journey had just begun...


	5. The Moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter goes best with the song “Caroline” by Colter Wall.

Tommy found himself on a grassy green hill with a mansion firmly placed on top, as if it was pushing down against the ground itself. There was nothing else in the surrounding area save for a thick, unnatural fog that made it impossible to see beyond what was already in front of Tommy. Only thing he knew was that he was somewhere familiar, a place he remembered visiting all the time in his dreams as a child, but why was he here again?

The mansion itself towered over Tommy, blocking out the sun; the mere shadow sending a chill into his very soul. Tommy stood there for a moment in hesitation before he walked up to the door of the mansion. The door swung open to let him in, as if the house itself was expecting him. Tommy took a deep breath and stepped inside.

The inside of the mansion looked so much like the old home that he had to abandon before fleeing town, but was much more opulent, as if it were a palace constantly tended to by invisible servants. The entire place was empty, devoid of any signs of life. Inside the foyer was a massive painting, it showed Tommy, his father, and… he thought it was his mother. He barely remembered her, only in old worn out photographs with her face faded away had he seen her. But here, he could see her face clearly; she looked more like him than his own father. Tommy was completely lost in his thoughts as he studied every detail of the painting, but was startled from a voice behind him.

“Thomas… I never expected to see you here…” Gman said with a sharp breath.

Tommy spun around to see it was his father.

“D-dad? What are you doing here?” 

“I could… ask the same of you…” 

“I- well I fell asleep and now I’m here.”

“Well it seems you are… here for a good reason… has… anything happened while I was gone?” 

“I… well… I think I’d have to sit down to tell you, it- a lot has happened.” 

“Then… follow me…” Gman said as he walked from the foyer and into a well furnished study with two seats in front of a fireplace and a table between them.

The study had red wallpaper with gold trimmings and dark oak flooring. Hung upon the walls were many hunting trophies ranging from mountain goats and bears to more exotic animals such as that of a lion, but what caught Tommy’s attention was a stuffed albino doe. It was small and had fur as white as snow, with the animal itself looking very young, as if it was barely an adult.

-Why would dad kill an animal like that? It didn’t even have antlers or that much venison. It… it looks more like a fawn than a doe.- Tommy thought.

He felt as if something was watching him, causing him to look behind himself to see a single porcelain doll sitting by the doorway. The doll itself looked eerily similar to that of Coomer. The beady, glass eyes of the doll made Tommy feel as if his every movement was being observed.

“Are you… coming, Thomas?” Gman asked after noticing his son taking a pause.

“What? Oh uh- yes.” Tommy said being snapped out of his thoughts.

Tommy and Gman took their seats in two armchairs placed in front of a fireplace. Gman poured himself a glass of a thick liquid that was as black as night. Seeing that always made Tommy’s stomach twist into knots, it was unnatural and unnerving. No matter how many times he saw his father consume the drink as a child he was always wary of it.

“If you’d like Thomas you may have some yourself… it is rather… delectable…” Gman said as he offered the glass to Tommy.

“I-I… no… thank you…” 

“Suit yourself…” Said Gman as he drank the liquid.

“Now where were we… you… mentioned that something happened?” Gman said as he placed the glass down onto a table.

“Oh right… we- so there was this man I found laying on the edge of town and he-he got shot. And so I took him in to see doctor Bubby and turns out he was looking for his son who got kidnapped. So me, him, and Coomer tried to uh- we got the man who kidnapped his son but then his gang… his gang set the entire town on fire… and we soon got chased out of town.” 

Gman merely sat there and nodded as he listened to his son talk. Tommy felt as if his father was piercing his soul with those eyes.

“Er… aren’t you upset about that? I- we lost our home.”

“I am very upset, Thomas… I may not show it, but I am rather… worried for you…”

“Dad, with all due respect… it…” Tommy said as he took a deep breath. “It feels as if you don’t… You’ve been… all my life you were distant and I- I just want to know why.”

“What do you mean?” Gman asked as he raised an eyebrow, still not changing his emotionless expression.

“As in, why you’re never home, and why you do these… strange things.”

“And what sort of… strange things?”

“Well I- I’ve seen you disappear into the fog and I know no ordinary man has his eyes reflect like an animal’s eyes in the dark.”

“My dear Thomas…” Gman readjusted himself to change into a more relaxed position.

“There are… things one must do for his family to ensure… fortunate circumstances… I understand your concern but… everything I’ve done and will do… will be for your best interest…”

“I-I know but… I just want to know what’s going on, dad.” 

“And you will in due time my boy… but it seems as if… our time to talk is… coming to a close soon…” Gman got himself up from the chair and walked towards the front door of the house with his suitcase in hand.

He opened the door to reveal nothing but a dense fog on the other side. Gman turned to Tommy, “remember… it’s best that you… trust your father…” he said before leaving the house.

Moments later Tommy woke up to find someone gently nudging him. He opened his eyes to see the light of dawn as Coomer stood there.

“Ah, hello Tommy! It’s time to wake up to have our meal before we hit the road again!” Coomer gently said with a smile.

“Mhm, okay… I’m up.” Tommy mumbled as he stretched himself. Sunkissed climbed onto his cot to give him his morning kisses.“Aw hey there girl.” Tommy held her head in his hands and gently petted her.

He then got his boots and walked outside to where the fire was. Everyone was sitting around and eating their breakfast.

“Morning, Tommy.” Bubby said.

“Hi.” Replied Tommy as he took a seat around the fire and was handed a plate of food.

Everyone sat there in silence as they ate their meals, with Sunkissed trying to sneak herself a snack as well.

“So uh… what are we doing today?” Tommy asked to break the silence.

“Ah good question, Tommy. We’re going to be riding into town to get some supplies. Bubby and I will be looking for leads as to where Forzen and his gang went!” Coomer said.

“Wait-“ Gordon said to interrupt Coomer.“Benry, why didn’t you tell Coomer where the bandits were? Since, you know, you were the one who followed them to their hideout.” 

“Uh… I was kinda busy getting stabbed saving your ass.”

“Wait you knew where they were?” Bubby asked.

“Well yeah. How else did I save Gordon?” Benry shrugged.

“And you didn’t think this was important information to tell us? Especially during the time you were in recovery in which you could have told me?” Frustration and disappointment mixed together in Bubby’s voice and eyes.

“Uh... didn’t really come to mind.”

“You’ve got to be shitting me.” Bubby said with a scoff.

“Well why didn’t Gordon tell you guys where the bandit camp was?” Benry said, giving a side glance to Gordon.

“Hey wait a minute- I had a fucking sack over my head! How the fuck was I supposed to know where the camp was?” 

“Fellas, wait. I get that it’s frustrating, especially with what’s at stake, but we- the past has already happened. What’s important right now is that we find out where Forzen and Joshua are.” Tommy added in to prevent an argument from breaking out.

“Tommy is correct, we need to save our energy and try finding Joshua’s kidnappers. Arguing amongst ourselves will do us no good.” Coomer nodded in agreement with Tommy.

Gordon gave a sigh to relieve the stress that had been building up inside himself. Despite the argument being avoided, there was still a feeling of tension between everyone. Everyone got up to tear down the camp in silence, not a single word uttered to eachother. Soon they were ready to ride into town.

The ride to the next town was uneventful, Gordon sat inside the wagon with Sunkissed laying her head on his lap. The scenery along the road was unchanging, bushes and cacti scattered the landscape. It looked dead, but Gordon noticed that among the cacti and shrubbery was life. Lizards, rabbits, mice, snakes, and bugs lived amongst the dry environment, whereas eagles and vultures soared above head in the skies. 

It was as if the desert was a single living creature, the wind as lungs, the thorny bush its hands, and the sun as its eye staring down on everything. The group were mere visitors, guests who should be courteous unless one would want to be found picked clean by the inhabitants of this land.

Gordon caught himself staring up at the sky, towards the fluffy white clouds; a stark contrast from the hard and dry environment surrounding the group. A mixture of melancholy and warmth filled his chest as he started thinking about the woman he once loved. Caroline… that name always felt sweet, like honey on his lips. Oh how she would always lay with him outside as they watched the clouds move past, and the garden… she always grew her favorite flowers, carnations. It was as if Caroline plucked a piece of Eden and placed it by their home.

“Whatcha thinking there, Freeman?” Benry asked as he rode along the wagon on his horse, snapping Gordon from his thoughts.

“What?” Gordon’s eyes wandered down from the sky to look at Benry.

“What’re you thinkin’? You were kinda staring at the sky with a look.”

“Oh… it’s uh. It’s nothing, Benry.”

“Didn’t seem like nothing judgin’ by the way you were looking.”

Gordon gave a short sigh before he explained his thoughts. “I was thinkin’ about my woman, Caroline…”

“Oh… you’re married?” Benry asked, his hopes momentarily dashed upon hearing what Gordon said.

“... No… not anymore, at least…”

“Oh… if uh... if you don’t mind me askin’... what happened to her?”

“She… I don’t wanna talk about it…” Gordon looked away, he didn’t want Benry to see him vulnerable.

The two of them rode down the road in complete silence, neither of them knowing what to say or do. Benry being unsure how to respond to what Gordon said, and Gordon not wanting to talk about his loss.

Then Bubby broke the silence.

“So you all know the plan? We go in and try to find Forzen. Me and Benry are gonna try finding a lead while Coomer, Gordon, and Tommy try their luck with local law enforcement.”

“Wait, aren’t we criminals?” Benry asked.

“Yes… and no. News from Mesa Springs would take a week at least to travel to this town due to the lack of infrastructure in this area. Not including the fact that er… how do I gently put this… that Mesa Springs is a backwater town that nobody likes or cares for, so no one is really paying much attention to what’s happening in town.”

Hearing Bubby say that about the town he spent most of his life in took Tommy somewhat by surprise, but… Bubby wasn’t wrong either.

“As I was saying, Coomer, Gordon, and Tommy can probably get help from the local law due to Forzen’s gang leaving a trail of destruction behind them. And of course the lawmen will want all the help they can get, so as long as we play it right we should find Forzen without a hitch.”

“So what are you and Benry gonna do?” Gordon asked.

“Simple, me and Benry will try seeing if there are some… less than savory individuals who may know of useful information relating to the whereabouts of the gang.”

“And what would we do if we get the information? Do- where would we meet up or do between?” Tommy piped in.

“Bubby and I already thought that one out, dear Tommy! We’ll meet at the saloon at 7 in the evening and if we have time, we should resupply our wagon and try finding some temporary work to make sure we’ll have enough money for utilities and supplies.” Coomer said.

The next town was coming up ahead on the horizon, but Gordon didn’t have a good feeling about all of this. His gut is telling him that this isn’t going to be as simple as Coomer or Bubby made it seem, especially since everyone, except Tommy, all seem eccentric at best.

Gordon took a deep breath and let out a sigh knowing that it was going to be a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tysm for your patience! School and creative blocks delayed this chapter, but I’m really proud of what I have so far. There’s also a lot of fun symbolism and contrast between Gman’s dollhouse and Tommy’s home if anyone wants to check that out.
> 
> Again, thank you all so much for reading the things I put out into the world.


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